NomuraKitase Academy
by heaven-monument
Summary: NomuraKitase Academy is a coveted, worldfamous school for combat skills. Students from all over the city attend to be taught by the best. But many dark secrets from the school's shady past come back to haunt them... Discontinued. Unlikely to pick up.


**Nomura-Kitase Academy**

_By: Heaven-Monument_

Hello, hiya, and welcome to this epic of crapola. It's a school fic. With a plot. God forbid.

The usual pairings apply, you know, Cloti, Squinoa, CecilxRosaxKain (Last two one-sided), Tiyuna, Rippal, yada. No yaoi or yuri, but does fraternal/sororital love count? And no incest! No sex! No lemon! (Possibly lime if you ask very, very nicely). This is an ACTION story. Well, specifically, an Action/Adventure/Drama/Mystery. Rated T. Get with it crazed yaoi fangirls. Appearances from key characters from FF2, 4, 6 through 12 and X-2. Excuse me if any of them are OOC, I've only played X and X-2. Reviews appreciated.

Warnings: Large vocabulary, changing POV, changing time-space, Minor!OC, Bleeped out language from the s-word and up, massive spoilers for all, HE-FRICKING-UGE AU!. I mean, computers in Spira? I don't think so.

Enjoy!!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6:13am, Quistis' house

Bedroom

-radio clicks into life-

'Hello, I'm Quistis Trepe, Deputy Principal of Nomura-Kitase Academy for Fighting and Magic Skills. Our school offers the best teachers and curriculum for the fighter in you! Whether you're a knight, assassin, mage, summoner, it doesn't matter. We have the best for you, and will teach and show you to be the best you can be. Enrolment starts today, so if you've secured a place in what _Spira_ magazine called 'The best school for summoners this side of Zanarkand', get over there before noon and get ready for the learning experience of a lifetime! Call 1300-133-311, or visit us at –'

The radio Quistis was promptly shut up by the real Quistis slapping the radio's snooze button with as much accuracy and control as a 5-year-old intravenously injected with sugar, then the active ingredient in sleeping pills. As such, she missed and slapped the table, _hard_.

'Oww!' she exclaimed raspingly, and sat up and sucked her hand. She opened her eyes and glanced at the calendar, which had been marked with the date of enrolment in red pen. That date was February 1.

Today… February 1.

'$#' she almost yelled. The clock read 6:21am.

Quistis Trepe, 23 years old, got out of bed and shuffled towards her kitchen.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7:16am, Yuna's apartment

Shared bedroom

'Yunie!' Rikku squealed. 'Get up! First day of school! Again!'

Yuna, 19 years old. Summoner. Enjoys sleep.

Cousin of Rikku, 17 years old. Thief. Morning person.

Yuna was not a morning person.

Rikku tugged on Yuna's hand and almost pulled her out of bed. Yuna held on to the bed with her other hand, and the resulting strain made the young summoner wake up blearily.

'…Rik-Rik-Rikku…' Yuna failed to stifle a yawn. 'It's… quarter past seven?' Her voice suddenly returned to its normal self. 'We've got to leave in 45 minutes! And I've got to wash my hair!' She fell out of bed onto Rikku's feet, and the body that was attached to said feet buckled at the knees and fell backwards into a conveniently placed wall. Complete with painful shelves stacked with photos and other potentially dangerous, if broken, objects.

The objects broke and Rikku would have suffered major lacerations if not for her yellow scarf, which was now littered with glass fragments.

'Oww!!!' Rikku whimpered. She carefully took her scarf off and dumped it in a corner. Checking that she wasn't being stabbed by glass, she pulled Yuna up.

'That was close. Next time, I'll let my _electronic_ alarm clock do the honours.' Yuna said, with a grudging smile at Rikku.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7:23am, Quistis' house

Everywhere

Quistis shuffled out of the shower, dried off as fast as humanly possible, inhaled her breakfast, got dressed, grabbed her bag (which included phone, wallet, keys, stuff to teach with, etc) and bolted. She locked the door and ran to the lift in which her two-bedroom apartment was. She jabbed the 'B' button repeatedly and hummed under her breath, all the while cursing the 40-year-old elevator that wasn't even useful for soapbox racing.

The lift stopped at the basement. Quistis' silver Celica coupe was glinting there in her personal car park. Hunky valets opened her door, pumped up her tyres, buckled her seatbelt and saluted her as she sped off into the street, where all traffic just melted away. The traffic lights smiled at her. People in the street, who all suddenly became actors, strippers and various other hot guys who had _mysteriously_ lost their shirts, waved and flexed their impossibly huge biceps at her.

At least that's what she wanted. No, Quistis' Luck (with a capital L) was impossibly low.

The car was… no, just standing there. It hadn't been washed in weeks, and the silver paint was tarnished with bird droppings, leaves, scratches and other unmentionably bad things that, by principle, shouldn't even come close to a car.

Quistis opened the door of the Celica, and drove off. A large, productivity wasting traffic jam met her with a sadistic smile. Rain started pouring down. The low fuel light blinked at her as if to say, 'You blind bitch, I'm empty! Fill me up before I use your blood as engine oil!' And, as a final insult to injury, the hottest guy out there was the rich guy who owned the petrol station down the road. He was 53, mildly overweight, and always, always, jacked up his prices on important driving days such as Christmas and the holidays.

Quistis pointedly forgot to fill up.

At last, at LONG last, at precisely 7:51 am, Quistis entered the campus of Nomura-Kitase Academy. She drove up the winding entry, and parked next to Cid Kramer's shining BMW 750Li. The blonde silently cursed his salary in excess of $200,000, as opposed to her measly $65,000. And, in her opinion, she did thrice the work of him.

She stepped out and went in the back way, to where Vivi was preparing his Advanced Black Magic class on the ground floor. He waved. Quistis decided to insult him and subliminally blame him for all her misfortune, but she relented. After all, he was 7. Instead, she gave a faint smile and nodded lightly.

_OK Quistis. Straight back, whip out but not poised, fake smile, and Here. We. Go._

The insufferably lifeless Trepies, as most of the students called them, had bedecked her classroom on the fifth floor with signs screaming, 'WE LOVE YOU QUISTIS!!' and 'GREATEST TEACHER EVER!' and pictures of their hero.

The real Quistis took her whip and slashed them all in half in one graceful movement. Setting down her books and reorganising her classroom, she prepared for a long day. Edea poked her head in the classroom.

'Quisty! Hello darling!!' Edea purred, strolling into the classroom. Quistis smiled.

'Hello Mrs. Kramer. Where's Cid?'

Edea waved her hands. 'Please, Quistis. Just call me Edea. We're all friends here, and just because I'm the wife of your boss doesn't mean you're lower than me. Anyway, he's out front greeting the early birds. Why?'

Quistis picked up her bag. 'I'll show you. Come with me.'

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8:01am, Nomura-Kitase Academy for Fighting and Magic Skills

In front of the Gigas Administration Building

Cid Kramer, Principal and Headmaster of Nomura-Kitase Academy for Fighting and Magic Skills, was standing out the front. Already, at 8:01am, there were at least 25 of the approximate 250 students and teachers gambolling around, waiting for the 8:30 official start. Lulu, Minwu, and Ricard Highwind were talking quietly in a group. Cyan and Auron were quietly drinking coffee and sake (respectively) at a table near the café, where Tifa was serving breakfast to Cloud and Barret.

Yuna and Rikku were just pulling up in Rikku's yellow Renault Clio. 'Rikku! Yuna!' Tifa cried, leaning over the counter. 'How's it going?'

Cloud paused, sipping his orange juice. As the cousins walked forward, each carrying bulging backpacks, they waved happily. 'Not bad. Can't wait for this year, you?' Yuna replied, walking over to give Lulu a massive hug from behind.

Rikku moved forward to the café. 'Hey Tifa, um, I'll have a latte, a toasted sandwich, and- Gippal!! Get off you perv!'

Gippal giggled. 'Hey Cid's Girl, how's it shakin'? I bet you'll be ready for Engineering with me – the greatest machine expert this side of Home!' he drawled.

Rikku frowned. 'One – I have a name. Two – No, I'm not looking forward to working with you, meanie. Three – Tifa, add on to that the chocolate croissant. Four – Pop has always been better than you at engineering. And you know it.'

Gippal pouted.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8:13am, Nomura-Kitase Academy for Fighting and Magic Skills

In front of the Gigas Administration Building

Cid noticed his wife and Deputy walking towards him. Holding out his hands, he gestured to them. 'Edea, Quistis. Good morning. Ready for work?'

Quistis shook her head. 'This is not my idea of fun, but I've got to do it. I'll handle the enrolment, you handle the PR. Edea, can you help?'

Edea nodded.

'Good. Where's the enrolment stand?' Quistis asked.

Cid pointed to a small stand near the front door of the Uematsu Building, where the classrooms were located. The stand had a large sign that said 'ENROLMENT'.

'Let's go, Edea.' The blue mage set off at a brisk walk.

'Cid! Here's a megaphone. Get them going.' Edea also added, before running after Quistis.

Cid took it. He stepped up to a plinth and readied the megaphone.

'Good morning, parents, students and teachers. Welcome to Nomura-Kitase Academy. Enrolment officially starts in six minutes by my watch, and that's at 8:30. You can start lining up now, and where my wife, Edea, and the Deputy Principal, Quistis, are standing, is where you line up. Make sure you have your forms, books, and documentation.' He pointed to the stand. Quistis waved to attract attention.

'Good luck, and we'll see you in two days when you move in and when lessons officially start!' he concluded, to polite applause and the occasional cheer. Mostly from the sport-obsessed jocks.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8:33am, Nomura-Kitase Academy for Fighting and Magic Skills

In front of the Uematsu Residential Building

Quistis and Edea were quite comfortable at the stand.

'Tidus, was it? Welcome back. This is your third year, correct?'

Tidus nodded, Brotherhood slung over his shoulder.

'Okay. You're cleared for Intermediate Swordsmanship major, and elementary White Magic minor. Also, you've expressed an interest in Blitzball. Coach Beclem has put you on the A team, so you're officially in. You are sharing with Wakka on the fourth floor, in Apartment Excalibur. Here's your key, your curriculum-' she handed a large booklet to him- 'your study pack, your schedule, and your student value pack. Meet Adelbert Steiner in room 201B for Swordsmanship, and Belgemine in room 402A for White Magic. Your designated weapon storage is vault 33 on the seventh floor of the dorm building. Here's your other key. Good luck.' Quistis rattled off, handing Tidus various items and sending him on his way.

'Morning Selphie. Second year now? Hyne, you've grown. You're cleared for Martial Arts Intermediate major, and Summoning Arts minor . Here's your key, curriculum, study pack, schedule, and value pack. You're on your own this year, as Rinoa has moved to the teacher's lodgings. You're on the sixth floor, in Apartment Godhand. Meet Tifa in room 301A for Martial Arts, and Isaaru in room 504A for Summoning. You have requested no weapon storage, so there you are. Good luck hun.' Edea said.

'Rosa Farrell? Good. Your second year as well… ok, you've got White Magic Advanced major with Minwu in room 401C, and White Magic Extension Arts also with Minwu in the same room. You're staying with Cecil Harvey on the second floor, in Apartment Omega. Your weapon storage is vault 2 on the sixth floor of the dorm building. Here's your key, curriculum, study pack, schedule, and value pack. See you later.' Quistis was getting thoroughly bored by her ninth person, Rosa. The young mage could tell.

'You're bored, aren't you?' she smiled lightly.

Quistis took another sip of her coffee, freshly made by Tifa. 'Just one of the perks of the job.'

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later in the day…

'Vaan… second year… ok, cleared for Thief Skills major, and Black Magic Elementary minor. Thievery with Baku in room 111A, and Black Magic with Rinoa in room 404A. You're staying with Balthier on the first floor in Apartment Bahamut.' Edea looked up. 'Vaan, I don't need to remind you that sleeping with Balthier may end in tears.'

Vaan nodded and rolled his eyes, as if to say, _I know what you mean._

Edea continued. 'Store your weapons on the eighth floor, vault 66. By the way, you're sharing with Rikku on that. She's in room… Quistis, what room is Rikku staying in?'

'Third floor, Apartment Shiva.' She replied without looking up.

'Yes, what she said.' Edea continued.

'Okay… that's good…' Vaan mumbled while texting on his phone.

'Here's your stuff. Bye. Next!' Edea was eager to get to lunch, as it was almost 1pm.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cid Kramer, who was not only a caring, talented and wise man, could read his wife's mind and body.

Well, almost.

He bustled over carrying a tray laden with sandwiches, cakes, drinks and other snacks – especially Edea's favourite chocolate bar, the Masamune (so named because it was huge, thin, and looked like a sword. Also, everyone got it confused with the other similarly named chocolate bars, the Murasame and the Muramasa) almost as Edea felt her stomach rumble.

Quistis was almost about to pass out with boredom and exhaustion. 'Ugh… thanks Mr Kramer…-' Cid looked at Quistis blankly. 'I mean, Cid. Thanks…' She helped herself to another coffee (her fourth), and a salad sandwich. She also took a Masamune off Edea.

Edea pored at her nails. Each nail, which had been meticulously painted crimson red, was chipped or otherwise damaged due to the work. Signing, shuffling, stapling, the occasional poke (especially in the direction of Cid Highwind, who was yelling at her to 'sit the hell down and drink her goddamn tea'), and various typing was not good for her.

Quistis had played safe, and coated her nails with that many layers of protective varnish that her nails became three-dimensional. As such, her hands were in perfect condition for them to finally finish at 3:30.

Seven hours of hard work – it felt to them like 16.

As they forced their limbs into their respective vehicles, Quistis turned on her Celica and told Cid sternly yet sarcastically, 'you so need to give me a pay rise.'

Cid laughed good-naturedly. 'I've been meaning to give you that pay rise for weeks now, Quistis. You're easily the best staff member here- no, Edea, I mean it.' Edea raised her hand in mock moral outrage, then pouted.

'Just because she works a 50-hour week…'

Cid sped off. Cutting off a garbage truck, he changed three lanes on the fly and soon was out of view.

_Not bad for a middle-aged married man with an inability to feel anger…_

Quistis turned on her Celica. The low fuel light was still blinking indignantly.

'Oh, enough!' she idled out and turned right to the nearest petrol station, while simultaneously changing lanes, adjusting her mirrors and switching on the radio. Gwen Stefani was howling from the six speakers, '_What you waiting for?'_

_You're right Gwen. What am I waiting for? This year I'm pulling myself together and getting that top job._

The lights turned green. Quistis floored it and was at the designated speed limit faster than most people thought the four-cylinder could travel. She turned left into the apartment building and parked.

Her phone rang. Quistis flipped it open and flicked her blonde hair out the way.

'Quistis? How's it going babe?'

'Uhh…' it was that damn womanising jerk Seifer.

Grimly smiling at an old woman with a shopping trolley, who at the sight of Quistis' shiny whip, gasped audibly.

'I'm fine Seifer. Why are you ringing now? I'm damn tired and want to watch the news. Rumours abound is that we're losing government funding all because Gogo offended a couple of people in the nearby plaza.'

'Yeah well, maybe you could come over and spend a little time?' Quistis could imagine the little whores at his flat that thought they were getting _love_ from that idiot right now.

'You damn well know I'm not interested. Get the hell away from me and don't ring me unless it's important.'

'Oh come on babe, it's not like that! I actually enjoy my time with you!' he pouted.

'Let me guess. You've said that to how many girls who've doubted or dumped you? Five? Ten? Thirty-seven?'

Seifer sighed and attempted a cutesy comeback. 'At least I get thirty-seven girls. How many times have you had sex, Quisty babe?'

'Go away already!'

At this rate, the old lady was mortified. Looking into Quistis' face, she asked shakily, 'Are you a dominatrix?'

Quistis looked down at her. 'Of course not! I'm just the target of man-whores like this guy here.' She returned to the phone.

'Seifer, I don't want to have sex with you. Ever.'

'You mean ever again?'

'I knew you were going to say that. That time wasn't something to remember.'

Seifer tried one more attempt at wooing the blue mage. 'Oh come on! Let's weave that magic again. You know you want to…'

'Shut up. I don't want to. Don't ring me or I'll whip you so hard you won't be able to feel your gunblade.' With that she snapped the phone shut and exited the elevator.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yuna and Rikku arrived home at around 8pm after they went out to dinner.

'So, what are you taking again?' Yuna asked as she put down her bag and walked to the bathroom.

'Erm…' Rikku consulted her curriculum and schedule. 'Thievery with Baku again, and Engineering with some new guy. "Edgar Roni Figaro". Sounds like some poncy guy. Could be fun, though…' she kept looking. 'There's an alchemy subcomponent again. I'll top that part… um, we get to assemble our own battle robots! Awesome! I can't wait to kick Gippal's ass at that! Woohoo!' she yelled before joyfully skipping down the hall to join Yuna in pre-sleep preparations.

'So, what about you? Anything interesting?' Rikku spread a ridiculous amount of toothpaste on her yellow toothbrush.

Yuna frowned. 'White Magic and Summoning. What else?' she took her orange toothbrush and applied a more reasonable amount.

The Al Bhed girl started brushing her teeth. 'We, afte orl you'v gun in your life, you desherve to rern shomthing different.'

'What?'

Rikku spit out. 'After all you've done in your life, you deserve to learn something different. Like, did you take up those extra firearms classes? Those two guns aren't just for show.'

'Well, yeah, but they're supplementary. It turns out that while the Firearms class is on, I don't have any other classes. So, instead of studying for the other subjects, I'm learning how to fire a gun. Lucky coincidence.' Yuna undid her hair and took off her boots and socks.

Rikku sighed. 'And you can't even cast Shell yet. You know, you could take Thievery and learn how to get Lunar Curtains from the most unexpected places!'

'Such as?'

'Um… you can derive Lunar Curtains from this eyeliner.'

'No way!!' Yuna gasped dramatically.

Rikku put the eyeliner back. 'I know. I am a qualified bullshitter. Good night.'

She exited the bathroom and shut the door.

'Rikku! Don't swear so loudly!' Yuna called after her, hands on hips and fake pout in place. Of course, it was all a joke. For all her flaws, Yuna still loved her cousin.

And so, Yuna continued preparing, and she turned the hot water on to wash her hands.

The water was cold, even after leaving it to 'heat' for three minutes.

Yuna tried the shower, the kitchen, the ensuite, to no avail. 'Rikku?'

'Huh?' Rikku replied groggily.

'The hot water's out. Can you fix it?'

'No. It's... 10pm. Ring up a 24-hour plumber.'

Yuna looked at her watch. It was 10:04. 'Not likely. They charge obscene amounts of money. Remember that one time we got a 24-hour plumber? Firstly, he wanted as payment, my Nirvana. Then he tried to watch you undress. You had to knock him out with a Sleeping Powder and toss him into the dumpster. I'm not going through that again.'

'Uh, true. Ring Kimahri.'

'He's at Mt. Gagazet fighting Grendels. He's not available until Wednesday.'

'Ring Tidus then.'

Yuna blinked. 'Good idea.' She dried her hands. 'Not,' she said quietly, before walking into her bedroom and reaching for the phone.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cecil Harvey and Rosa Farrell. Lovebirds, talented warriors, and were top of everyone's list of 'who's getting married first'. Only 20 and 19 respectively, they were top of their classes in only three weeks in their first year at Nomura-Kitase.

Only recently had they moved out together and were living in a de facto relationship before the inevitable matrimony. Setzer, who was the owner of the local casino and betting club, had put their marriage at 7-1 in the next year.

After they had received their packages and information, they returned to their three-bedroom home in the suburbs. Pulling up in their Ford Mondeo, Rosa hopped out, popped the boot and took out her staff.

'So, our second year together at school. Isn't it exciting?' she leant in for a kiss. Cecil obliged, giving her a quick peck before taking out his extremely heavy and bulky armour and sword.

'You bet. Same subjects? Here, Rosa, take this.' He gave Rosa the chest piece and one piece of leg armour. Rosa, although a strong woman, visibly buckled under the weight of almost 50 kg of dense steel.

'Of- course- I'm taking White- Magic- uh! Crap…' she dropped the armour on the front lawn. She continued speaking as Cecil sighed and walked towards the armour.

'I'm learning how to spread curative spells over a large radius, how to remove protective enchantments from a distance, how to fully revive swooned people, and by the year's end I should be able to cast Holy. With a capital H.'

Cecil was amused. 'You serious?'

'Of course.' They kissed again before Cecil picked up the dropped armour with ease.

Walking inside their house, Cecil opened up the closet and unceremoniously dumped his heavy armour inside. The noise was so loud that the next door neighbour, a guy called Corneo (but he preferred to be called 'Don Corneo'), shouted loudly, 'Hey! I'm trying to impress a lady here! Shut up or I'll kick your ass!'

Rosa, who was annoyed with Corneo's business (it was rumoured that it was a brothel or otherwise unsavoury place) from the start, yelled back, 'I'd like to see you try! Take one step inside and you'll be seeing Holy stars!'

'Whatever, sissy bitch!' The woman inside the Don's house, who was unfortunately under the 'control' of the Don, asked him loudly, 'What's going on? I want to show you my new vibrating dil-'

'OK, that's enough!' Cecil shouted. Time and time again they'd hear suspicious moaning and weird stains all over the sheets drying on the outside line, not to mention very interesting objects found near the Don's kitchen window.

'As soon as we have enough money, we're moving out.' Rosa said, hands on her hips and breathing heavily.

Cecil opened the pantry, still wearing sweaty and grass-stained armour on his shoulders. 'You said it. What do you want for dinner?'

Rosa, who suddenly dropped her hands and grinned mischievously, walked towards him. 'You.' And with that she kissed the knight passionately and pushed him to the bedroom.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tidus opened the door of his houseboat in the harbour. Throwing the keys down on to the benchtop, he looked around.

As per a typical bachelor's 'pad', it was permanently messy. Clothes everywhere, magazines and DVDs scattered, an overflowing rubbish bin, dirty dishes all over the counter, and an answering machine that was flashing indignantly '13'. The blitzer pushed the button, casted Haste, and began whizzing around the room to clean it.

'Mr. Tidus? We regret to inform you that your marina lease will run out in three days. For six months more lease, it is only 3500 gil. If you fail to pay by then, we will forcibly take away your vessel and charge another 1000 gil. You can drop into our office and organise for the lease to be officially discontinued. You will need to vacate the marina in under 24 hours subsequent of the discontinuation. Thankyou, Shelinda, from the Zanarkand Harbour Marina Office.'

-beep-

'Yo Tidus! Just wondering if you were interested in helping me put together a blitz team for this year, ya? Call me back soon, ok? Bye!'

-beep-

'Tidus, honey, I need you to come over first thing tomorrow morning and fix our hot water. I think the pilot light went out… and not even Rikku knows how to fix it. Love you, Yuna.'

-beep-

-This is Coach Beclem here. You need to attend a meeting with Wakka and I on Thursday at first break. I'll be in room 201A. Be there or your chances of making vice-captain are gone. Goodbye.'

Tidus pushed the button harder.

-Honey, you really need to come over. Rikku's howling at the lack of hot water, and no plumber is available. We've even tried calling up Kimahri, but he's busy at Mt. Gagazet. Love you, Yuna.'

'I can't take this anymore!' He picked up the answering machine and pulled the plug. Tidus tossed the godforsaken speakerbox of doom onto the couch.

The phone rang. Tidus exploded in frustration. Picking it up madly, he yelled into it, 'WHADAYA WANT?'

'Calm down, Sir Tidus. It's just me, Adelbert.'

'Who?'

'Your Swordsmanship teacher for this year. Adelbert Steiner. You know?'

'Oh. Oh right… sorry. Oh crap…' Tidus grinned sheepishly, before putting the phone on loudspeaker as he opened up a can of Coke.

'I was just wondering if your sword or swords needed servicing or repair. I know of this man who is offering half price tomorrow only. His premises are close to my house, just a five minute walk there. Well?'

Tidus spared a glance at Brotherhood, stuffed into an umbrella stand. 'Uh, sure. I've got… wait here.' He ran to the 'armoury' (which was really the engine room, but had many swords and bucklers fixed to the wall). Stunning Steel, Prism Blade, Caladbolg (which had not been powered up yet), Astral Sword and his personal favourite, Razzmatazz (customised lovingly by Rikku), were glimmering dully. He also looked at his shields, which were falling apart or otherwise in various states of disrepair. He ran back.

'Uh, Mr Steiner, sir? I'll take up on that offer. You'll be there tomorrow?'

'Of course I will. I have fourteen swords to repair. There at, say, 7am sharp?' Steiner said casually as he changed the channel at his plush five-bedroom villa.

'Um… I might be a little late. I have to repair Yuna's hot water. I'll be there at 8:30 at the latest.'

Steiner tutted. 'More like you'll wake up at 10am after staying out late in the clubs getting drunk.'

Tidus shuffled his feet guiltily. 'That's not entirely true. Just because Bickson's out to get revenge on me winning that drinking competiti- uh, forget I said that.'

'I'm trying my hardest to. Good night Sir.'

'Good night.'

Tidus hung up, yawned, and went to the cupboard. Sliding the door open, he selected a bunch of bags to pack with.

'Well, it's 9 pm. I need to pack for a whole term until the holidays. What to bring, what to bring…' He walked off while counting on his fingers.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yuna, at 10:30 pm, was silently fuming. Rikku was LOUDLY fuming.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'There!' Tidus finally jammed the last blitzball into his seventh bulging bag. Then he looked at it as a whole.

It would have taken a day to bring them all to the college. He would need a car. Who had a car…

_Wakka's car was always broken down._

_Steiner lived too far away._

_Yuna wouldn't let me unless I fix the hot water, and I don't want to do that tomorrow morning._

_Lulu walked everywhere._

_Squall and Rinoa probably packed their Nissan full with crap._

_Tifa… wait, Tifa's perfect!_ Tidus ran to the phone, and then realised, _What's Tifa's number?_

He hastily dialled Cloud. 'Hey Cloud, what's Tifa's number?'

'…0422-911-155. Why?'

'I need to pack seven bags inside a car. You live too far away, and Tifa has an SUV.' Tidus twirled his dirty blonde hair absent-mindedly.

Cloud looked at Tifa, who was indulging in her own home-made brownies and the latest chick flick. 'I'll check if she's available, she's here with me. Hey Tifa!'

Tifa looked up, brownie halfway to mouth. 'Yeah?'

'Can you bring seven bags to school tomorrow on top of yours?'

'Sure. Who?'

Cloud took a deep breath, and said, 'Tidus.'

'Sure. But tell him if he yells stuff out of the car while I'm on the freeway, I'm going to Final Heaven him to Luca and back.'

Luca, unlike Tifa's comfortable suburb of Fifth Sector, was on the other side of town. Exactly 16 km as the chocobo flies. Not to mention Tidus would be overrun with drunken blitz fans.

Cloud turned back to the phone. 'You there? Don't yell stuff out the car. She'd be happy to. We're leaving at 7:30, we'll come round 10 minutes later? It might be a little squishy, I'm in the car as well. See you then.'

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cid and Edea threw back the covers and climbed into bed.

'Well, honey, ready for tomorrow?' Cid turned onto his side.

Edea nodded, reaching for her favourite book, _Sorceress' Guide to Magic_, on the floor. 'As ready as I'll ever be.'

'Did you pack your things?'

'I packed so much I doubt we'll be able to fit it in the Beemer.' Edea turned a page.

Cid turned off his light. 'So, you packed clothes, weapons, paperwork, lesson plans, books, stationery, keys, phone and such, and assorted other junk which you probably won't need?'

'Now, now, Cid…' Edea shook her head and continued reading. 'That's a big Ultima that man's casting…' she mumbled. 'Oooh… nice Flare…'

'Well, goodnight.' Cid turned over and promptly fell asleep.

Edea kept reading while thinking, _This year is going to be a nightmare. _

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So? Was it good? Click that little purple button down in the corner and tell me everything. Flamers will be mercilessly humiliated. Special chapters featuring any requests for 100, 250, and 500 hits, and 5, 10 and 20 reviews, favourites, alerts or C2s. After that requests given every 500 hits and 20 rev/fav/alrt/C2.

No lemons, or anything that will breach the T rating. Must be along the flow of the story, eg. If Cloud is in hospital in chapter xx, he can't suddenly make out with Tifa in a closet in chapter xy, then remain injured in chapter xz. A good idea is for Tifa to give him a special visit in chapter xy, etc.

Enjoy!!! HM


End file.
